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Grassroots action for a safer, more just world

We’re broke, except when it comes to war

We’ve all seen the devastation in our communities caused by the economic crisis—teachers laid off, health care a luxury, services cut off for our most vulnerable friends and neighbors. Yet deficit hawks in Congress hold up unemployment benefits for struggling Americans, while hardly giving a second thought to billions for wasteful wars. Enough is enough.

In response to the ongoing debate about reducing the deficit, President Obama established a bipartisan deficit commission that is promising recommendations for “very painful” cuts. While the Pentagon budget is on the table, we need more than the nibbling around the edges recommended by leaders like Defense Secretary Robert Gates. We need serious change.

Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) convened his own bipartisan commission to look at cuts to military spending. In addition to waste and fraud, the commission identified programs that are no longer relevant to the security threats faced by Americans. As Rep. Frank noted, “I don’t think any terrorist has ever been shot by a nuclear submarine.” Rep. Frank’s commission recommended $960 billion in cuts over 10 years that would save us much-needed money without any danger to national security (pdf). This is the kind of bold plan we need to rein in out-of-control military spending and protect other programs like Social Security that are on the chopping block.

The debate about the economic future of our country offers us an immense opportunity to call ridiculous military spending into question and demand investment in the things that matter most. Cuts to the military budget are always politically difficult, and we need to create the groundswell to make them politically possible. Please take action today.